The Director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Paulo Martins Chan, says the city’s gaming industry must focus on improving quality rather than expanding its footprint over the next few years in order to boost its tourism appeal.
Delivering the keynote address at G2E Asia on Wednesday, Chan pushed the government’s non-gaming focus as being key to Macau’s future, urging operators to think creatively rather than simply looking to grow in size.
“What will the Macau IR look like in the future? I think there are lots of possibilities and room for creative thinking,” he said.
“However, regardless of how the IR grows, it should be developed according to the five-year development plan of Macau which specifies that Macau’s gaming industry will not pursue expansion in scale but focus on improving quality and utilizing existing modern facilities to build tourism customers to facilitate the development of non-gaming elements.”
Chan lauded the government’s efforts to increase Macau’s tourist appeal as having helped the city through the economic downturn of 2014 and 2015, adding that it was no surprise to see other jurisdictions such as Japan now look to integrated resorts in order to increase visitation.
“I think IR developments are expanding throughout the world because they are helping to enhance an entire destination’s tourism product and appeal and boosting the economy, however the elements included in the IR should be different from destination to destination so that each gaming jurisdiction shall have its own social, cultural and political background,” he said.
